Share This Story!

Searchers find four teen hikers safe early Saturday

Several search teams scoured the Crest Trail Friday night and early Saturday for four teenage boys from Albuquerque who set out for what was supposed to be a short afternoon hike and were reported missing by their family several hours later.

Several search teams scoured the Crest Trail Friday night and early Saturday for four teenage boys from Albuquerque who set out for what was supposed to be a short afternoon hike and were reported missing by their family several hours later.

The cold, wet hikers were found safe and unhurt before dawn on Saturday, having spent a rainy night on the trail and in a building at the top of the gondola lift at Ski Apache.

The boys, aged 14 to 18, began their adventure at the Crest Trailhead near Monjeau Lookout where their family dropped them off at about 3 p.m. Friday. When they didn’t return and couldn’t be contacted as the sun was setting, the family called for help.

According to Tony Davis of White Mountain Search and Rescue, the Rio Bonito Fire Department sent a team along the Crest Trail to the Peacock Trail around 8 p.m. Rain was heavy and no sign of the boys was found. The New Mexico State Police declared a formal search at about 10 p.m.

Alamogordo Search and Rescue and Mesilla Valley Search and Rescue from Las Cruces sent teams, Davis said. White Mountain Search and Rescue responded with four searchers and a two-person base came with a communications van, Davis said.

Ashley Smith, the incident commander from Las Cruces, arrived about 11:30 p.m. and set up her base camp at Ski Apache.

Alamogordo sent their team up Sierra Blanca’s western side from Three Rivers. At 1:30 a.m., the White Mountain and Mesilla Valley teams headed up Scenic Trail.

When they reached Crest Trail they looked for tracks, but the heavy rain appeared to have washed away any that might have been there. The two teams separated, Mesilla Valley turning toward Ice Spring and White Mountain searchers toward Monjeau.

At 3:30 a.m., the Mesilla Valley team found the boys where they had taken shelter at the top of the gondola lift. They provided the boys with dry clothes and even fixed hot chocolate for them, then escorted them to the Ski Apache base camp by way of the Crest and Scenic trails.